What Can We Expect From Iron Man 3?

Now that Iron Man 2 has opened in North America, having opened in the UK the week prior, it’s already accumulated $327.6 Million at the worldwide box office. Not bad at all for a 10-day haul.

While we already knew we’d be seeing more of Tony Stark and his Iron Man suit in the future with The Avengers and Iron Man 3, it’s time we start discussing what his next adventure may entail by looking at what we know about Iron Man 3 so far.

The Avengers is slated for a May 4, 2012 release and since next year Marvel Studios will be introducing Captain America and Thor to the world, it could be two full years before we see Robert Downey Jr. on screen again as the popular hero.

That is of course, ignoring the possibility of a cameo appearance in either of the two Marvel movies next year. A common theory out there is that at the end of The First Avenger: Captain America we see The Avengers together as they unfreeze Steve Rogers and introduce him to the modern era.

What this all means it that by the time we get Iron Man 3, Tony Stark will be a full-fledged Avenger so the story will have to encompass his bigger obligations and the existence of these other heroes.

What will Iron Man 3 be about and who will his next villain be?

Ever since Jon Favreau brought us the first Iron Man, fans have wondered and speculated on when and how they can introduce the Mandarin, archenemy of Iron Man.

MovieWeb spoke with Iron Man 2 writer Justin Theroux and asked him about the Mandarin being fully introduced in Iron Man 3.

“Yeah, we tip our hat to that but that’s a tough one to get in because it’s such a big storyline… So that, I don’t know, and I don’t dare say it but it might feature in Iron Man 3, I don’t know?”

He doesn’t yet know for sure if he’ll be writing Iron Man 3 and he explains that they’re all focused on The Avengers at the moment before they put the next Iron Man solo movie into pre-production. For fun, who would Theroux play in the Marvel movie universe if he had a chance?

“I don’t know? Hawkeye would be great… No, I don’t know? Yeah that would be fun. We’ll have to see because I’ve never even thought of that? We’ll see?”

Before Justin Theroux hit it as a screenwriter with his script for Tropic Thunder he was an actor with big roles in Miami Vice and Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle. I actually think he could pull off The Ultimates version of Hawkeye [Update: Jeremy Renner is playing Hawkeye] so I have a feeling he has thought about it.